time since flight 214 slammed into the runway in san francisco. we are hearing from those who went into action during that moment of crisis. the defense rests when george zimmerman deciding not to testify, but not before a dramatic exchange between his attorneys and the judge as this case nears its conclusion. nbc news exclusive tonight. the boston bombing suspect comes face-to-face with survivors in court. our conversation with the man whose rescue made for one of the haunting images from that awful day. the man who knew right away he seen the face of the bomber. and life and death. where you live helps determine how long you live. the results of a major new study of our nation's health. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. shortly before we came on the air tonight, members of the crew of that asiana airlines wide bodied 777 talked about what happened and what they did in the moments after the crash in san francisco where the tail hit the seawall and the jet spun and skidded to a halt, eventually bursting into flames. the flight deck to the crew at first said not to evacuate immediately. we know the imminent danger called for an immediate evacuation. tom costello covers for us tonight from san francisco. good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. good evening to you. i'll take you right to 28 left out there at sfo. and we have just been told by ntsb they hope to release the runway tonight. although it's going to take some

time to clear all the debris from the runway. we also learned this afternoon as you mentioned, first the pilots did not order that an evacuation would be ordered. it took 90 seconds before they would begin evacuates. because at first they did not realize how bad the crash was. 12 flight attendants on board flight 214. rescuers credit their quick action with helping to save 307 lives. >> as the evacuation went on, the fire did continue and the flight attendants and flight crew were involved in trying to fight the fire on the inside. >> reporter: three flight attendants were ejected from the rear of the plane on impact. one sustained massive head injuries, the other a broken leg. a first officer in a 747 waiting to take off on the same runway after flight 214 landed described the crash and then two survivors stumbling but moving. i saw one survivor stand up, walk a few feet, then appear to squat down. the other appeared to be a woman

and was walking and then fell off to her side and remained on the ground until rescue personnel arrived. today, some of the flight attendants left for seoul, and talked briefly to reporters. >> translator: asiana airlines and all the flight attendants and related personnel are working as hard as possible to recover from this accident. >> reporter: meanwhile, three pilots in the cockpit told investigators they struggled to line up properly for a visual landing. then realized too late their auto-throttle had not maintained minimum speed. investigators have not found any evidence of the auto throttle malfunctions. tom casey, retired 777 captain, says auto-throttle isn't designed to kick in when a plane is already set up for a landing. >> if the airplane thinks it's landing, it will not come in. it just says, well, captain is landing the airplane. >> kwef to go to there is automation there to support the pilots but the pilots also have to fly the airplane.

they have to monitor and fly. >> reporter: back on runway 28 left today, a haunting image as asiana flight 214 again arrived from seoul passing the burned out remains of saturday's flight 214. one more interesting fact. we heard just now from the ntsb the pilot reports at 500 feet he had a flash of blinding light. the ntsb isn't sure what that was and whether it contributed to the crash. >> and tom, there was another bit of news in the aviation business today. this goes back to the crash of a crash of a commuter airliner outside of buffalo, new york, in bad weather a few years back. >> reporter: the faa is raising requirements for pilots. captains have to have at least 1,000 hours as a copilot. copilots have to have 1,500 hours total in the cockpit first. this comes after the crash where 50 people died. at the time, many people believed and the investigation showed the crew didn't have sufficient experience.

>> tom costello covering all things aviation tonight starting us off from san francisco. tom, thanks. the defense has rested in the high-profile, highly charged trial of george zimmerman. charged with second degree murder in the killing of trayvon martin. zimmerman told the judge today he does not wish to testify on his own behalf. nbc's ron motte is covering in sanford, florida. good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you. the defense rested after another extraordinary day at the courthouse, including a tense exchange about whether or not george zimmerman would take the stand. today, george zimmerman made up his mind. >> what is your decision, sir? >> after consulting with counsel, not to testify, your honor. >> reporter: earlier, as the defense wound up its case with witnesses yet to call, things got testy. >> i am asking your client questions. please, mr. west. >> i object to the court inquiring of mr. zimmerman as to testify -- >> your objection is overruled.

mr. zimmerman, i will give you more time, sir to discuss this with your attorneys. thank you very much. >> reporter: the tension between defense attorney don west and judge debra nelson seems leftover from an after-hours court session last night. >> i can't keep up this pace. it's 10:00 at night, we've started this morning, had full days every day. weekends, depositions at night. >> reporter: most of the final day in the defense case focused on the testimony on an expert in the use of force. >> if you haven't been able to successfully win the event in the first 30 seconds, you need to change tactics. >> reporter: who says zimmerman had no other option but to shoot trayvon martin because he wasn't adept at fighting and felt his life was threatened by the teen. zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder, saying he fired in self-defense. >> i don't know what else he could have done based on his abilities.

because no offense to mr. zimmerman, he doesn't seem to have any. >> reporter: john guy used a foam dummy to determine where the gun was located when he pulled it. >> if this mannequin were carrying a firearm on their waist, where would the gun be right now in relation to me? >> would be at your left inner thigh. >> right here, right? >> yes. >> reporter: later, defense attorney mark o'mara also got physical. >> george zimmerman, trayvon martin. >> reporter: re-focusing attention on zimmerman's face and head injuries and whether they are consistent with an attack. >> how about this? how about somebody resisting the attempt, the two lacerations, could that have come from cement? if somebody was resisting me pushing down like this? >> i believe so. >> reporter: late today, the state asked the judge to consider adding the lesser charge of manslaughter. the judge will rule tomorrow on that before closing arguments get under way. >> ron mott today. thanks. in boston today, the surviving suspect in the boston

marathon bombing made his first appearance in front of a packed federal courtroom with dozens of survivors looking on. as dzhokhar tsarnaev pled not guilty to the 30-odd charges against him. his hair has grown long. hand in a cast, shackles and appears to have nerve damage to his face. outside court, nearly two dozen m.i.t. police officers stood honoring a fallen officer who was allegedly shot bizary tsarn and his brother. >> not far from there we interviewed jeff bauman. the man who was shown in a gripping and graphic photo after the bombing. he's 27, he worked at costco. he's now devoting his efforts to recovering with a lot of help. he's the one who saw one of the suspected bombers, the tsarnaev brother who was since killed.

jeff bowman told us certain things bring back that day. >> i remember everything. you know, i -- i remember a little bit more sometimes. >> reporter: yeah. does anything trigger it? i mean, if i were you, i've been thinking about this. i probably want want to see media, pictures, videotape. >> i can't google my name. i love the articles, but i scroll down and i see the images and gives me like an instant flashback. that pool of blood i was laying in. >> reporter: you saw the guy, and all of us have used the expression in our lives, in your case it's more serious than others. he didn't look right? >> no. i mean, he just -- you could tell people that were there for the marathon, because everyone was watching the marathon, and everyone was having fun, like, you know, talking. >> reporter: beautiful day. >> beautiful day, yelling, screaming, clapping and

everyone's clapping and cheering. it's like a fun atmosphere. it was great. and he was just like that. just holding his backpack. not talking to anybody, not with anybody, and standing right next to me. so i was like, who is he with? what's he doing? he's kind of weird. out of place. >> reporter: and so much security around there, right where you were? >> yes. >>. >> reporter: and we now know a ton of cameras. and you were so crucial in the investigation. as soon as you came to. >> yeah. even in the ambulance ride i was trying to say something, trying to say like i knew who did it, i knew what went on. i think they were kind of thrown back by that. they were like, what? you knee what went on? you knew what happened? i said, yeah, i saw the guy i think. that's what i said, i saw the guy. i just wanted to get a face out there and just to help. i just wanted to help. >> reporter: you know, if there

is something to feel good about, feel good about the fact that you sped this investigation along. man, you were the break. >> i think about that, i do. and i'm just glad they couldn't hurt -- i know they shot that officer. they snuck up on him, and that's horrible. that's -- but i'm glad they didn't go down -- i know they had plans for new york, that's what i heard. and they would have injured a lot more people. >> reporter: how do you keep mentally strong, from replaying decisions you made, crazy, little tiny things you made that day that ended up affecting everything? >> i mean, that does happen. i do do it. being active and being out and doing stuff takes my mind off of everything. and you can't think -- you can't think of what happened.

what would have happened if i ate something for breakfast that took a little bit longer or did something else. you can't replay it. it's in the past. you have to move forward. >> reporter: where do you see yourself in five years? >> i really want to do something great. i want to be out there. i want to help people. i want to just help people. that's what i want to do. >> we also witnessed the reunion of jeff bowman and karl sarandando, the man in the cowboy hat that is credited for saving his life. they talk every day. they say they'll be friends for the rest of their lives. more on that tomorrow morning on "today" in addition to our website. as the u.s. winds down its military presence in afghanistan, we are learning about what appears to be an enormous waste of taxpayer money. a massive headquarters building that may never be used. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski has more tonight. >> reporter: defense officials

call it the big white elephant nobody wants. located at camp leatherneck in southern afghanistan, a brand new state of the art military headquarters, but pentagon general john sopko calls it a total waste of taxpayer money. >> the building will probably never be used and may actually be destroyed. >> reporter: at a cost of $34 million and 64,000 square feet, it's larger than a football field. complete with a war room, theater, and enough office space to accommodate 1,500 workers. but long before it was built, an officer said he didn't need the building and didn't want it. and there will soon be no one to use it. in america's drawdown from afghanistan, the number of forces at cap leatherneck has already fallen from 20,000 to 7,000. since it was too expensive to

operate, not even the afghan military wants it. >> as a taxpayer, i'm outraged. >> reporter: two investigations are underway to figure out what went wrong. but a senior official here says while it appears no laws have been broken, it was still a bone headed decision. jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pentagon. still ahead for us tonight, a staggering look at the state of america's health. specifically this. where you live may determine a lot about how long you live.

as we mentioned, back tonight with a somewhat discouraging new report on health in america. it's not improving as fast as it is in a lot of other countries, and increasingly here in our country, how long you live may depend in large part on where you live. our report from chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: the report out today is a snapshot of how america's health compares to

other developed nations. and just as important, it's a look at what's happening in our own communities. while we are living longer, we are falling behind. >> things are getting better over the past two decades, but the pace of improvement is slower than in other high-income countries. >> reporter: on average, life expectancy for men in the united states is 76 years, up from 67 40 years ago. for women, it's now 81, up from 76. but that varies dramatically by region. men living in fairfax county, virginia, are expected to live the longest. about 81 years. but travel 350 miles and men in mcdowell county, west virginia, live on average to just 64 years. that's similar to the life expectancy in gambia, west africa. one of the world's poorest countries. women fair better with the highest life expectancy in marin, krals at 85.

and lowest, 72 years in perry, kentucky. on par with vietnam, a nation plagued by poverty. the biggest risk of death? what and how much we eat. >> the most dramatic change in the u.s. in the past 20 years is the extraordinary obesity epidemic. if you look at how much we eat that trumps the fact that we seem to do be doing a little bit more exercise. >> reporter: people living in certain areas of the south have the highest body mass index. men in owsley county, kentucky, is the highest rates of obesity. so do women living in mississippi. and thinnest community? san francisco for men, falls church city, virginia, for women. how we die hasn't changed much since 1990. the top three causes of premature death? heart disease, lung cancer and stroke. the number one disability in this country affecting millions? back pain. but insidious in all of this?

poverty. access to good health care. it's fair to say because poverty is such a huge part of this, it's in plain sight for most of us. >> a huge impact of socioeconomics. thank you. nancy, we want to let the folks at home know we put the full report on our website. where you live can impact life expectancy. that's at nbcnightlynews.com. another break. we are back in a moment with a big anniversary that got off to a rocky start today. look at 'em.

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you couldn't just set up a tv in the basement. i mean, come on! nope. we could only watch tv in the rooms that had a tv outlet. yeah if we wanted to watch tv someplace else, we'd have to go to my aunt sally's. have you ever sat on a plastic covered couch? [ kids cheering ] you're missing a good game over here. those kids wouldn't have lasted one day in our shoes. [ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month with qualifying bundles. rethink possible. bad news out of the midwest tonight. indiana amongst several states hit by powerful storms. caused some major damage. cut power to more than a quarter million customers, a lot of them in ohio. and about what was tropical storm chantal in the atlantic, it's thankfully been downgraded. though florida is still likely to receive heavy rain from the remnants. secretary of state john kerry became emotional today when he thanked state department employees for the outpouring of good wishes for his wife, teresa, who was air lifted to

the hospital in boston this weekend in critical condition at the time after a seizure. her condition since upgraded. >> teresa is doing better, under evaluation and we hope improving. i want to thank everybody for the remarkable outpouring of good wishes. it's been really very special. >> later in the day, secretary kerry left washington to return to his wife's side at the hospital. teresa heinz kerry is 74. big anniversary at apple, was ruined somewhat by other news. this was the day five years ago the app store made its debut. since then, over 50 billion apps downloaded. however, this was also the day a federal judge found after l violated antitrust laws in helping raise e-books in a conspiracy with publishers that apped helped to orchestrate to

cut amazon's dominance in e-book sales. up next tonight, a view of a president like we've never seen before.

finally tonight, we're getting a glimpse of american history we haven't seen before.

it's a short piece of film, grainy in black and white, believed to be the first moving pictures ever seen of fdr in his wheelchair. while his paralysis wasn't entirely a secret, it wasn't shown in pictures back then at the time, thanks in large part to a cooperative press corps and a very different time. the story tonight from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: it's only eight seconds of grainy black and white film. fdr is recognizable only by his signature hat. his wheelchair is not visible, but the 6'2" president is clearly seated. rolling past sailors standing at attention on "uss baltimore" at pearl harbor, 1944. just renominated for a fourth term, fdr is also seen that day with general macarthur and admiral nimitz. there's even a cameo by his beloved scottish terrier.

the raw footage, discovered by a professor, researching a different subject at the national archives. >> i saw something that was pretty remarkable and looked to me like president roosevelt being pushed in his wheelchair. >> reporter: why so rare? it was well known that fdr contradicted polio in 1921, but in public he was seen standing, leaning on a podium. like when he nominated al smith for president in 1928. or on the arm of a son. while family pictures show him in a wheelchair, there was a conspiracy of silence, a gentleman's agreement that included a willing white house press corps. >> the white house made it very clear to members of the press for the president to be depicted in public in a wheelchair, that was something thatever see. >> reporter: this became an issue again in 1997 when the fdr memorial was dedicated to cries of outrage from the disability community that he was in a cloak, not a wheelchair. four weeks later a photograph

was shown. a show of the real future of fdr. andrea mitchell, washington. that is our broadcast for a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. of course we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. good evening and thanks for joining us. >> we gip tonight with new developments in an nbc bay area exclusive. sysco corporation may be facing major penalties for keeping food in outdoor unrefrigeratored storage lockers that is delivered to local restaurants. vicky nguyen has the details tonight. >> reporter: after we contacted the health department with what we uncovered 14 state inspectors

fanned out across california. they were stunned to learn sysco employees were using outdoor storage units as warehouses to keep raw meat, milk and perishable foods for hours before taking them to bay area restaurants. when we brought what we found to sysco, the company scrambled to order employees to take foods out of the sheds. they found rat droppings and unsanitary conditions in the sheds. sysco delivers food to 400,000 clients worldwide. certain foods are to be refrigeratored from warehouse to big rig to restaurant. but inspectors say there was a break down in the sysco system. we caught drivers dropping off chicken, pork, bacon and vegetables to outdoor metal